House in disorder: How Europeans can help Palestinians fix their political system
Europeans should leverage their relationships with the Palestinian Authority to revive Palestinian institutions and reverse the PA’s slide towards authoritarianism
Israel / Palestine
After Jenin: A European response to West Bank escalation
Israel’s operations on the West Bank are a counterproductive way to deal with armed groups. European action should focus on helping to address the drivers of the recent surge of violence.
Israeli politics with Merav Michaeli
Mark Leonard welcomes Merav Michaeli to talk about Israel
Regional ripple effect: How escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence risks a new Arab-Israeli conflict
Recent fighting on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria shows how spiralling Israeli-Palestinian violence could drag the region into a renewed war
Tipping point: What Israel’s illiberal turn means for Palestinians
Israel’s growing illiberalism cannot be separated from its decades-long subjugation of Palestinians
Bide and seek: The dangers of US support for a Gulf-Israeli defence pact
Military alignment between Israel and Gulf Arab states risks heightened conflict in the Middle East – without weakening Iran’s geopolitical position or nuclear programme
Why the UK’s blacklisting of Hamas hurts its own peace policy
A motion to label the entire Hamas movement as “terrorists” is an attempt to score political points at the cost of a peacemaking strategy for Israel-Palestine.
13 Dec
Part of the problem? A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
How can Europeans more effectively advance their human rights agenda as part of, and while maintaining, their broader relationships with regional states?
Part of the problem: A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
European states face accusations of neglecting the matter of human rights in their southern neighbourhood, and even of being complicit. Yet they are failing to maximise the influence they could bring to bear.
Why Europe needs a rights-based policy after the Gaza conflict
ECFR council members call on Europe to push forward a rights-based policy to break the cycle of conflict in Israel-Palestine
Publications
House in disorder: How Europeans can help Palestinians fix their political system
Europeans should leverage their relationships with the Palestinian Authority to revive Palestinian institutions and reverse the PA’s slide towards authoritarianism
Back to democracy: Europe, Hamas, and the Palestinian elections
The EU and the US have a decisive role to play in ensuring the electoral process succeeds. In doing so, they can support Palestinian political renewal and improve prospects for a sustainable peace agreement with Israel.
The end of Oslo: A new European strategy on Israel-Palestine
Instead of its rigid focus on the Oslo peace process, the EU should craft a new peacemaking paradigm based on equality and deoccupation
Gaza’s fragile calm: The search for lasting stability
Introduction War threatens to engulf Gaza’s fragile calm. In each of the three recent conflicts that have shaken the Gaza Strip, fighting between Palestinian factions…
Alone in the desert? How France can lead Europe in the Middle East
France sees the MENA region as a state for foreign policy and great power politics and an opportunity to shape global politics and punch above its weight
Occupation and Sovereignty: Renewing EU Policy in Israel- Palestine
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
Rethinking Oslo: How Europe can promote peace in Israel-Palestine
The Oslo Accords have provided political cover for Israel’s creeping occupation and eroded the possibility of Palestinian self-determination
Israel’s unlawfully prolonged occupation: consequences under an integrated legal framework
The EU should ensure that it is not recognising as lawful Israel’s unlawfully prolonged occupation
EU differentiation and the push for peace in Israel-Palestine
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution
EU Differentiation and Israeli settlements
The EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations
Articles
After Jenin: A European response to West Bank escalation
Israel’s operations on the West Bank are a counterproductive way to deal with armed groups. European action should focus on helping to address the drivers of the recent surge of violence.
Regional ripple effect: How escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence risks a new Arab-Israeli conflict
Recent fighting on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria shows how spiralling Israeli-Palestinian violence could drag the region into a renewed war
Tipping point: What Israel’s illiberal turn means for Palestinians
Israel’s growing illiberalism cannot be separated from its decades-long subjugation of Palestinians
Bide and seek: The dangers of US support for a Gulf-Israeli defence pact
Military alignment between Israel and Gulf Arab states risks heightened conflict in the Middle East – without weakening Iran’s geopolitical position or nuclear programme
Why the UK’s blacklisting of Hamas hurts its own peace policy
A motion to label the entire Hamas movement as “terrorists” is an attempt to score political points at the cost of a peacemaking strategy for Israel-Palestine.
Why Europe needs a rights-based policy after the Gaza conflict
ECFR council members call on Europe to push forward a rights-based policy to break the cycle of conflict in Israel-Palestine
Cancellation costs: Abbas and Palestinian democracy
By cancelling Palestine’s first elections in 15 years, President Mahmoud Abbas has relinquished Palestinian democracy and national reunification, and is setting the stage for future turmoil
The Middle Eastern past is never dead
The normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (followed quickly by Bahrain) indicates that the Middle East is undergoing a strategic paradigm shift, with the Palestinians left out in the cold. But anyone who thinks that the region’s oldest ongoing conflict has been laid to rest should think again.
Israel-UAE peace deal: Flipping the regional order of the Middle East
The Israel-UAE peace deal provides multiple wins for both countries, and for the US. But it could yet deepen the region’s political fault lines.
How to create the conditions for progress in Israel and Palestine
Human rights and international law should be a timeless part of addressing problems in Israel and Palestine, but the international community urgently needs to begin doing so once more
Specials
Part of the problem: A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
European states face accusations of neglecting the matter of human rights in their southern neighbourhood, and even of being complicit. Yet they are failing to maximise the influence they could bring to bear.
Deep sea rivals: Europe, Turkey, and new eastern Mediterranean conflict lines
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria.
Differentiation Tracker
ECFR’s Differentiation Tracker provides a snapshot of third state relations with Israel – and the extent to which these contain a clearly defined territorial definition that explicitly excludes Israeli settlements constructed on occupied territory in line with UNSCR 2334
The Middle East’s new battle lines
An ECFR guide to the key disputes threatening to spark a wider Middle Eastern war
Mapping Palestinian Politics
This interactive web project charts the constellation of political players as Palestinians approach a period of political change. Over 100 pen portraits reveal new insights into the personalities and power structures that will shape the future of Palestinian politics.
Israel-Palestine Two State Stress Test
ECFR’s innovative project Two State Stress Test provides a health-check on whether developments across seven different areas are serving to strain or sustain a possible two-state outcome for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Podcasts
Israeli politics with Merav Michaeli
Mark Leonard welcomes Merav Michaeli to talk about Israel
Special ECFR discussion on Palestinian politics
Discussion about the political shifts from the March Israeli elections and dynamics surrounding the upcoming Palestinian elections
Interview with Daniel Seidemann
In this special ECFR discussion, MENA Policy Fellow Hugh Lovatt interviews Daniel Seidemann, the Founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem and an Israeli attorney that specialises in…
Trump’s “Deal of the Century” debunked: is there something in it for Palestine at all?
When US-President Donal Trump revealed his much-awaited plan for peace for Israel and Palestine it was set to solve one of the world's longest-running conflict
The role of France in the Middle East
Is France alone in the desert? ECFR experts Julien Barnes-Dacey and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil discuss how France can lead Europe in the Middle East
ECFR Clips: Trump’s impact on the Middle East
Ruth Citrin speaks with Ellie Geranmayeh, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Hugh Lovatt, about the state of play in the MENA region and the considerations for Europeans…
US and Europe clash in the Middle East
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Policy Fellows Hugh Lovatt, Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about reactions to Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital…
Israël-Palestine : “le manque de volonté politique menace la solution à deux Etats”
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat…
Violence and revolt in Israel/Palestine – the Palestinian perspective
Hugh Lovatt speaks to Fadi Quran, activist, senior campaigner for Avaaz, and according to the Time magazine “the new face of the Middle East”
Violence and revolt in Israel/Palestine – the Israeli perspective
ECFR's Hugh Lovatt and Mattia Toaldo speak to independent journalist and editor Noam Sheizaf, who has previously worked for a number of Israeli news…
Events
13 Dec
Part of the problem? A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
How can Europeans more effectively advance their human rights agenda as part of, and while maintaining, their broader relationships with regional states?
23 Feb
Koniec Oslo: nowa strategia europejska w kwestii izraelsko-palestyńskiej
Proces oparty na porozumieniach z Oslo wyczerpał się, a szanse na realizację rozwiązania opartego na dwóch państwach są coraz mniejsze. Europie nie udaje się zmienić…
22 Nov
EU Differentiation and the Push for Israeli-Palestinian Peace: What Can Italy Do?
Hugh Lovatt will present the findings of ECFR’s new Differentiation Tracker which analyses over 260 bilateral agreements with Israel signed by the EU, the EU’s 28 member states, and Norway
7 Nov
Israeli Foreign Policy in a Changing World
A breakfast discussion on Israeli foreign policy under Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu
24 Oct
UNRWA im Krisenmodus: Risiken und Herausforderungen für Deutschland und die EU
Diskussionsrunde in Kooperation mit der SWP zur Krise der UNRWA
8 Oct
Supporting Israeli-Palestinian Civil Society: What is the Future of International Funding?
A lunchtime discussion on the future of international funding for Israeli-Palestinian NGOs and the challenges it faces
19 Jun
The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism?
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à une discussion avec Yehuda Shaul et Hugh Lovatt sur le thème : « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? »
13 Jun
The Future of Israeli-Palestinian Peace after Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’
Discussion of the US 'peace' plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and EU's position and role in the peace process
25 Oct
Is Gaza once again on the brink of war?
To take stock of the recent escalation in Gaza and international stabilisation efforts
11 Oct
Book Presentation: “Preventing Palestine”: A Discussion with Seth Anziska
With Seth Anziska, University College London Moderated by Hugh Lovatt, ECFR Policy Fellow Thursday 11 October, 12.30-13.30 (registration from 12.15) ECFR, 4th floor, Tennyson House, 159-165 Great Portland St, London W1W 5PA
In the media
A lot of people were streaming down from Zawiya after news of the meeting broke
Tarek Megerisi comments on the protests in Libya against the meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister
Against this backdrop, Palestinian reconciliation remains a distant prospect
In both contexts there are broader similarities, such as the recognised process of annexation. Morocco for decades has also enacted a number of policies to displace Sahrawis
Hugh Lovatt comments on the parallels between the occupation of Palestine and the struggle of people in Western Sahara
espite expressing praise for the camp’s steadfastness against the Israeli incursion, Abbas had one clear message: There is only one Palestinian Authority, and it is still in charge
Through his made-for-camera visit, Abbas wants to show that he and his Palestinian Authority are firmly in control of Jenin